Bernanke: I'm Not Out Of Bullets

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is speaking to the Senate
right now about the state of the U.S. economy. This is about the
saddest hour of testimony we've heard from the Chairman.

There is little hope in his tone, or words. He has stated that
there are several ideas bouncing around the Fed that they might
implement in an effort to boost the economy. He has said that
those ideas have yet to be approved, that the actions may or may
not have an impact, and actually might cause negative results.

While Bernanke denied being "out of bullets," he didn't inspire
confidence.

This economy is, in many ways, a shambles. Evidence of
deflationary pressures on the economy is broad. Goldman Sachs'
top economist Jan Hatzius has labeled the U.S. ready for a
"second
half slowdown."

And while the questions of the Senate's members are more
political than purposeful, what is coming out is that the Fed
struggling. It isn't that Chairman Bernanke is weak or lost it's
that he knows the reality of what we are going through.

This Japanese
style balance sheet recession, with portions of the economy
deflating every day, is only part of it. Add to that the
unemployment reality and sovereign debt uncertainty, and he's
facing an extraordinarily difficult situation.